


Acting Leader

by LonelyThursday



Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: AU where Jack and Crutchie both went to the Refuge, Canon Era, Gen, Race is acting leader while Jacks gone, Takes place after King of New York
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-11 16:03:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20156281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LonelyThursday/pseuds/LonelyThursday
Summary: Race goes to yell at Spot about not joining the strike... that's basically it





	Acting Leader

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know why I keep posting new stuff every two days, but it just seems to work out that way sooo

Spot Conlon hasn’t been having a great week, what with the hike in pape prices, and _Kelly_ coming over to try to get Brooklyn to join their dumb strike… It sucks. Sometimes being the leader sucks, but _someone’s _got to be in charge and it sure can’t be Hot Shot. Rafaela maybe, but not Hot Shot. 

Speaking of Hot Shot, he seems to be leading Spot’s next headache right through the door.

Racetrack Higgins. Hot Shot is leading Racetrack fucking _Higgins _into the Brooklyn lodging house. If Jackass Kelly thinks that sending in Racetrack Higgins to talk to him will change his mind on this whole dumb strike thing, then he’s got another thing coming.

“Look, Higgins,” Spot starts before Race can start whatever fucking spiel Kelly thought could get _the_ Spot Conlon to change his mind on anything. “I get that Kelly thinks that cuz we’se friends er somethin’ that you’se can get me ta join ‘is stupid strike, er whatevah-“

“Lemme stop ya there, _Spotty,”_ Race punctuates the statement by roughly shoving Spot’s shoulders. Rafaela and Hot Shot immediately jump into action, ready to fight Race, but Spot holds a hand up to stop them. If Race is mad then whatever he’s about to say isn’t some scripted shit that Kelly asked him to say. “I ain’t here cuz Jack asked me to, and I ain’t here as ya _friend._ I’se here as da actin’ leadah o’ da ‘Hattan newsies ta tell ya that ya asks us ta stand our ground and we-” Race holds a hand out behind him which makes Spot realize that that ginger Manhattan newsie who follows Race around like a puppy is standing behind him. The ginger hands Race a newspaper that he’d been holding, which Race then shoves into Spot’s chest. “-stands our ground and make the front page o’ da _New York Sun._ Whatcha gotta say ‘bout that Conlon?”

Everyone’s watching Spot, waiting for his answer, but only one thing circled around Spot’s head. “Whatcha mean ‘actin’ leadah’?”

“Them bulls dragged Jack off ta da Refuge.” The ginger pipes up from behind Race, Spot is almost impressed that he stands his ground when Spot directs the full force of his glare at him. 

“The Refuge?” As much as Spot pretends to hate Kelly, he really thinks of Jack as his best friend, and the thought that his best friend is back in that hellhole…

“Yeah, well none o’ da othah boroughs wanted ta help us wit’out Brooklyn backin’ us up, so’s them bulls busted our heads. We’se lucky they only got Jack ‘n Crutchie.” Race is spitting mad, and honestly he has every right to be. Spot had known that none of the other boroughs would show without backing from Brooklyn, but he had still refused.

All eyes are still on Spot, and he knows that this is the moment of proof. He had told Jack that if he could prove that he was serious about this strike thing then he would get backing from Brooklyn. He did it. Jack proved he was serious, but now he’s in the refuge, and Race is the leader of Manhattan, and Race is expecting him to support this strike. A strike that got Jack sent to the Refuge and placed Race in charge of his boys.

As much as Spot will later attest that he had thought through the decision to join the strike long and hard, the truth of the matter is that even if Jack _had_ sent Race, Spot would have said yes. Jack wanting to go on strike is one thing, Jack’s always been too much of a dreamer, but if _Race_ believes in the strike… Even with all his enthusiasm for life, Race is more down to earth than Jack, and if he believed that they could win a strike, then Spot would back him up. 

“At da next event,” Spot says, slowly. “You’se can count on Brooklyn.”

Race grins, all his anger gone, and spits into his hand. Spot does the same and they shake on it. 

“Knew we could count on ya, Spotty.” Race give Spot one final grin. “Well, we should be gettin’ back ta ‘Hattan, things ta do, kids ta wrangle, ya know how it is.”

Without further ado, Race has turned on his heels and is out the door before Spot can say anything else, the ginger at his heels. Spot stand a little dumbfounded for a moment before he rushes out the door after them.

“Hey wait! Racer!” He calls to them down the street. Race stops and turns to Spot, a little confused that he ran after them. “You’se gonna do great, kid. At bein’ a leadah I mean. You can do this.”

Race smiles, and some of the tension that Spot hadn’t even noticed left his shoulders.

“Thanks Spot.” Race says, in a serious voice for once in his life. “That means a lot ta me.”

Spot nods once, then heads back to the Brooklyn lodge. Hopefully he’s not going to regret joining the strike. 

Back outside, Race just shakes his head.

“Spot’s a big softie on da inside.” He tells Albert as he throws an arm around the ginger’s shoulders. Albert snorts. 

“I bet if ya said that ta him, he’d send ya ta an early grave.”

“Nah, he loves me.”

Albert just hums and the two continue back to Manhattan, Race has got newsies to lead, and a strike to run. They honestly can’t get Jack out of the Refuge soon enough.

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted Race to yell at Spot, and since I love Albert he had to be there, and because I know Sprace is a more common ship I made all relationships ambiguous.


End file.
